
EP 52 | The Impossible Standard of the “Good Teacher” with Carissa Lee
The Bloom Room: An Early Childhood PodcastShow Notes
Teaching has a funny way of becoming more than a job. For many of us, it becomes part of our identity and the way we measure our worth.
In this episode, I sit down with Carissa - former teacher, school leader, coach, and mum - to explore what happens when our identity becomes tangled up in being a "good teacher", and why so many educators carry impossible expectations of themselves.
Together, we unpack the pressure to be everything to everyone, the self-sacrifice that often gets mistaken for commitment, and why learning to separate who we are from what we do can be one of the hardest lessons of all.
You'll hear: ✨ Why so many educators tie their worth to productivity and achievement ✨ What motherhood taught Carissa about identity, self-worth, and success ✨ The hidden pressures behind being a "good teacher" ✨ How comparison, perfectionism, and external judgement keep us stuck ✨ Why self-awareness and self-trust matter more than having all the answers ✨ The power of small ripples and why change doesn't have to be huge to matter
This conversation is honest, vulnerable, and deeply reassuring. If you've ever felt like you're not doing enough, not being enough, or carrying the weight of impossible expectations, this one's for you.
Connect with Carissa on Insta @whole_brain_classroom Download Carissa's freebie: A Simple Way to Check-In With Yourself As a Teacher (Without the Guilt)
Doors to The Behaviour Reset are OPEN! If you want to be able to understand the behaviour you're seeing, decide how to respond, and adapt your approach when things don't go to plan - without constantly questioning whether you're doing behaviour "right" - click here to join us! Doors close on October 22.
More from The Bloom Room: An Early Childhood Podcast
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When did praising children become so dang controversial?!
What if we scaffolded children’s behaviour in the same way we already scaffold every other area of their learning?
Why can we have hundreds of behaviour strategies at our fingertips and still find ourselves wondering what the heck to actually do when behaviour gets hard?
How do we hold boundaries without becoming harsh - and stay responsive without feeling like we have to let everything go?